Have you taken a true multi-night backpacking trip into the wild outdoors? The kind of trip where it’s just you (maybe some friends), your pack, some trekking poles, a trusty pair of hiking boots, and a grand sense of adventure?

If you have, you’ve probably experienced the captivating magic of trail life. The range of emotions you feel during and after a big adventure spans from the tough lows up to magnificent highs, but the memory you take with you in the end is truly magical.

In this 4-part series, I’m not going into the nuts and bolts of backpacking or the how-to’s or what to bring, but instead taking you through the mental aspect of trail life and what your senses experience:

Part 1: Trail Life & Magic of Backpacking // Tickle Your Senses
Part 2: Trail Life & Magic of Backpacking // Reset to Simple
Part 3: Trail Life & Magic of Backpacking // Ties That Bind
Part 4: Trail Life & Magic of Backpacking // Memories That Stick

For those of you who love Gear Lists (like me) and want more detail in what we take on our multi-night backpacking trips:

Check out what we take ? Our Current Backpacking Gear List

Mrs. Saturday & I crave more time and miles on the trail. It’s a reset of our spirits back to a simple and pleasant routine. We love being fully immersed in the culture and richness of local and diverse environments. While on our savings journey, more time on the trail vs. expensive luxury travel can be an effective way for us to take more frugal trips.

Doesn’t THAT sound exciting?

Backpacking provides added flexibility and frugality to vacations where normally you have to might book a hotel or AirBnB. But, if home happens to be with you, then you can literally be anywhere you want!

Now, into the magic of backpacking and trail life.

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Memories That Stick

Each place you visit has a profound impact on you, whether you realize it or not. The magnificent views remind you that there’s a vast, wild world out there that’s yet for you to explore. Wildlife sightings are some of the first memories to stick out in your mind. Whether you’ve seen a large bear from afar through the trees, stumbled upon a group of beautiful deer in the middle of the trail, or had a very large elk try to eat your backpack only feet away in camp, seeing these animals in real life is nothing short of exciting and awe-inspiring.

Below are some of the types of memories that stick out in my mind from past adventures.

• • The Big Payoff

• • Wild Weather
  • Witnessing Wild Animals

• • Immersed in Nature

• • Goofs & Unmentionables

• • Trail People

• Eats, Drinks, & Treats

The Big Payoff

The memory of working towards a tough objective and the the reward of a big payoff at the end lingers far after the trip is over. In Smoky Mountain National Park, the 8 mile round-trip day hike to Ramsey Cascades was tough, but enjoying the relaxing waterfall oasis at the end and seeing a guy get down on one knee to an excited girlfriend will forever stay with me.

In Acadia National Park on the Beehive Trail, we faced our fear of heights by hiking up 500 feet of steep rock near a sheer drop. At several points, we grabbed onto metal rungs attached to the rock on side of the mountain and hoisted ourselves up while our hearts pounded with adrenaline. We were rewarded with an incredible 360-degree view as far as we could see of a mix of ocean, beach, mountains, and islands everywhere we looked.

Wild Weather

The weather can steal the show in many ways when you’re telling your trail tales.

? Caught By Surprise

There was this one time when we were hiking down some serious elevation (13,000 feet or so) from a beautiful mountain lake, descended a waterfall, and then it happened – it started hailing on us. What a shock! Luckily, we just happened to be on the only part of the rocky trail that had a tiny cliff overhang which made a shallow cave. It gave us a brief half hour to grab a snack, snap a few photos, and then the rain started seeping through the cracks into the rock and started raining on us inside the cave!

⛈️ Rain

On a separate occasion in Yosemite National Park, we crested a spectacular peak and trail-walked the ridge while gazing far ahead to see a dark storm coming in. We quickly switchbacked down the mountain hoping to make it just in time before the storm. As we pulled into our reserved campsite, it began sprinkling. We started setting up our shelters, unpacked and got comfy in our sleeping bags to read, and then found out just how waterproof our tent was NOT. There was a barrier between us and the sky, yes, but our tent started leaking through the seams that I hadn’t seam-sealed in years. Our friends fared the same, but in the opposite direction. The rain came down over their waterproof tent, but a river began flowing underneath! It was a muddy mess while we dealt with the situation. Luckily it didn’t rain all night, but it was a cold, wet start that ended up being a truly amazing trip in the end.

?️ Temperature

Temperature always plays a big role in your memories, hot and cold. The hot, humid hikes in Florida during the wrong part of the year will make you want to swear off hiking. The majority of our hikes we plan involve nice cool or even cold weather to keep our body thermostat happy and also helps with the bugs. It’s a delicate sliding scale though.

A few intriguing memories pop out in my mind when it comes to temperature. Imagine hiking along and surprise! You reach for your water bottle, and it’s frozen solid! Or finding out how slippery the trail is when the surface has frozen into ice and icicles are dangling from the rocks above. Or you go to shoot a photo and your camera has stopped working because the battery is too cold. Or maybe you’ve washed out your socks, hung them up to dry, only to find when you try to put them back on in the morning, you realize they’re frozen solid! Crazy stuff.

Witnessing Wild Animals

It’s one thing to see an up-close photo of a magnificent animal, but a completely different experience seeing it first-hand with your own eyes. We’ve had several experiences on the trail that have stopped us dead in our tracks. Once on a Appalachian Trail in Smoky Mountain National Park we were happily chatting away walking down a wooded trail, when suddenly around a corner a family of deer quickly turned around and peered up at us curiously.

Not wanting to scare them, all we could do is watch in awe as they stared at us. After a minute or so they continued about their day munching on greens while keeping an eye on us out of their peripheral vision.

Seeing these creatures in their element is exciting and can get your heart pumping, especially when they’re much larger than you! It leaves you feeling naked, vulnerable, and is a good reminder that nature is much larger than us. We’re only visitors in their world. Seeing a large black bear from afar was exciting in the Smokies and we will never forget the huge elk in Rocky Mountain National Park that decided my backpack would be a good snack!

Immersed in Nature

There’s nothing like actually FEELING the environment that you’re in. The richness of an experience is heightened when you can FEEL what you’re seeing. When your senses are sparking and tingling, you start to perceive nature as an extension of your body.

Dips in mountain lakes and streams numb you from the incredible cold, but you will always remember how refreshing and fantastically shocking it was. Squatting down along a dusty orange path to keep from getting blown off and having to close your eyes and cover your face from all of the gritty sand blasting will give you an appreciation for the elements. Feeling the cold rain on your face or the icy prickle of a large snowflake on your tongue can connect you to the environment in a way like nothing else can.

Experiencing nature directly is a very personal and memorable experience that more people should have more often.

Goofs & Unmentionables

A lot of laughs are made on the trail as well! I hold dear memories of laying on a large rock by a pristine mountain lake, laughing with great friends so hard until we cried. We were musing on the recent memory of someone walking up on me in an awkward bathroom position while using soft pine cones as toilet paper! After the fact, even some of the not-so-funny low moments become laughable oddities of “Remember when…”

Even taking in the view while doing your business can be memorable! I guarantee that Rocky Mountain National Park has one of the best “poos with a view” you’ll find.

It’s only when you live at the edge of your comfort zone that you truly feel alive.

Trail People

Many of the people you meet on the trail end up as characters in your mind for some reason or another. One such character was named “Bob.” On trail we were given the tip “talk to Bob at the Hiker Inn” on a section of the AT near North Carolina and Tennessee. At the end of our 20 mile stretch, we were slightly lost, exhausted, and after road walking a bit, a retreat exclusively for hikers made up of small cottages appeared out of nowhere with a guy who walked up happily when we asked him “Are you Bob?”

It was an oasis! He invited us in and we had the best time. We cleaned up, ate, had many beers around the fire pit and slept well. The next morning Bob’s nephew even drove us back to our cars. On the bus ride down the winding road, Bob’s nephew told us a few stories and after a bit of chatting & asking about Bob, he looked up and asked “Who’s Bob?”

We’re still puzzled over that one.

With others you encounter on the trail, you can only infer what their story might be. Day hikers are easy to spot being very clean with new, shiny gear and maybe little ones tagging along. If you’re behind them or passing by, the perfume or clean clothes smell hits your nose immediately. On the other hand, thru-hikers are just the opposite – usually dirty, grimy, and reek of death from bad body odor. You could probably picture a homeless person and get a good visual. They also move quick, sport powerfully muscular legs, and are usually very cheery.

Any sampling of a day’s worth of people on the trail could be young, old, rich, poor, couples, solos, families, and be any ethnicity. Hiking is very inclusive in that it’s very welcoming, incredibly healing and therapeutic, but most of all a very human activity that attracts all kinds of people from any walk of life.

Eats, Drinks, & Treats

Glorious Food

Our desires out on the trail are simple. When your body is craving calories, fat, and minerals, it’s not hard to please. Flavors are enhanced in your mind and once you have that first taste of anything flavorful, your body sighs relief.

Delicious food and treats stick out as some of the best-tasting and most satisfying you’ve ever had. After long multi-day hikes, trail towns offering restaurant food feel like luxuries only afforded to kings and queens. A mouthful of pizza or a burger in hand is the good life and if you can wash it down with a craft beer, heaven on earth!

BYOB – Bring Your Own Beverage

We don’t normally like to drink much alcohol on the trail, but some memorable times can be had packing your favorite liquor to mix into an adult beverage (or even straight). For me, Bud Limaritas will forever hold a charm of being the cherry on top of a great trip!

There was one time we were hiking with friends in Florida at the wrong time of the year where the bugs were heavy with gnats, mosquitoes, and more ticks than we could deal with. After hiking into camp & setting up, we looked at each other and within 10 minutes packed it all up and hiked out. Along the way we started drinking the tequila straight from the sports bottle we carried in and let me tell you — it was a memorable hike out! (followed the next morning by, let’s never do that again)

I love beer & wine, but since liquor has a higher concentration of alcohol, you don’t have to carry as much weight. Our favorites are rum or tequila mixed with True Lemon drink mix (Original Lemonade flavor) and our friends have liked powdered Gatorade to mix. Get creative and try making familiar drinks like trail margaritas, but be careful not to overdo it!

When water isn’t quenching your thirst enough, drink powders fill in to give that extra boost you crave.

In the morning, I enjoy having a steamy hot beverage and particularly love coffee (Mrs. Saturday is a tea drinker). I’ve tried many variations of making the perfect cup of coffee at camp including:

• • Grinding it fresh

• • Brewing in an in-cup steeper like the MSR Mugmate style brewing basket

• • Brewing in the amazing Aeropress (I use this at home daily)

• Using instant micro-ground Starbucks Via packets

After many attempts at this, I’ve happily settled with the Starbucks Via (both Columbian and Italian roast) method of making coffee in the morning in camp. It’s quick, lightweight, produces little trash and has been perfect for me on the trail for what I want out of a strong cup of coffee.

(My coffee preference is Cuban-style – strong & sweet with froth on top. When backpacking, I use the above, but at home and for general travel, I love my AeroPress espresso coffee and espresso maker. It makes a great cup of coffee! ☕)

Sweets & Fresh Fruit

Sitting around a campfire eating chocolate and s’mores isn’t reserved for children alone! Find your inner child and partake in the simple joys in life. Chocolate added to trail mix or even indulged by itself is a beautiful thing. You can never have enough chocolate. 🙂

On our Colorado Rocky Mountain trip, I surprised Mrs. Saturday for her birthday by stashing away her favorite cookies and used them as a makeshift birthday cake including candles! It was hard hiding those in the bear canister without her knowing! Sweet little surprises can go a long way to make a memorable trip.

Fresh fruit has been one of the most memorable surprises we’ve had on the trail. The longer you spend on trail, the more you crave fresh, unprocessed food. On short camping trips, friends of ours have packed Tupperware with mixed frozen fruit and berries. At the end of a long hike in Smoky Mountain National Park to Charlie’s Bunion, we enjoyed our lunch with a view and watched a group of hikers break out fresh sliced mango of all things!

Fresh berries picked on trail are the best! If you know what you’re looking for (and ONLY if you’re positively sure), this is a wonderful experience to partake in what nature has to offer. We’ve wild-picked blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, huckleberries, and mullberries to name a few. Eat them one by one or if you want a burst of flavor, save them into handful and gorge on a handful all at once! Add them to drinks, pancakes, oatmeal, or whatever and you’re livin’ large.

Remembering The Experience

In the end, though, after the trip is over and you’re either sitting at your work desk, sharing time with friends, or quietly reflecting on your experiences, the memory gets gently packed away in the corners of your mind to make room for new experiences. The hardship fades and even some of the magic dims just a tiny bit, but the feeling remains alive and well inside you. When you bring the memories back to the surface, they always turn up a smile on your face along with the great feeling of accomplishment that you earned. You were a part of something special.

We need and crave more magical memories like these. Life is a great adventure and backpacking can unleash a full array of potential to enjoy the many wonders that we have yet to discover.

Miss the beginning of our 4-part series? Go back to Part 1: Trail Life & Magic of Backpacking // Tickle Your Senses

Have you experienced Trail Life? What memories stick for you?